So, I've been meaning to make a thread like this for a while now, but my natural lurker tendencies make it difficult to find the will to actually post things on internet forums Last week, I beat Hard Gaan-Telet for the first time after a few tries (I thought it was a really cool challenge ), and in my very next run *just* barely beat a thrilling Vicious Venture Cave as a blood mage with Super Meat Man as the boss (HP would've made my jaw drop if I hadn't already attempted the Gold Monk challenge). I was feeling super excited and was ready to excitedly write a blow-by-blow account of it and post it to express my love for the game, but didn't quite get around to it for whatever reason (I'm a bit strange that way).

In any case I still want to say that I can't remember the last time I was this impressed by a game. I must've played over 50 hours of the Alpha, and as soon as I felt I could afford it, pre-ordered the special edition and lost myself in the Beta. Few other games have drawn me in as much. (sometimes it feels as though it was designed specifically for me, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way XD). I would've saved up for the super-special 80$ version if it wasn't sold out; I've gotten so much value out of this game!

For all of the discussion (sometimes really heated) that still goes on about balance and adjustments, much of which I feel is reasonable (I don't participate in those because I still don't feel like I'm familiar enough with the game to have valuable input; still yet to beat Naga City despite numerous attempts), I think it's also good to bring up that this game, even though it's still in beta, feels more balanced, polished, interesting, complete and *fun* than the majority of games out there. I think it's an amazing accomplishment, and I'm constantly trying to get more people to play it. So yeah, I just wanted to let the devs know: You guys are awesome

I might also take this opportunity to ask a quick question: Are we supposed to be able to re-acquire (and locker) silver challenge items when beating them a second time? I wanted to get the Gloves of Midas to do the Hexx Ruins buyout quest, so I did Rogue silver again (neat challenge BTW), but I didn't get the opportunity to locker it after it was finished. The boss didn't drop it, but that also happened the first time I beat the challenge so I simply assumed I would get the opportunity to locker it again. In any case, I recall reading somewhere that I should be able to re-claim a silver challenge item by playing it again, so I was about to put it in the bug reporting thread, but I starting doubting whether it was a but in the first place, so I'm asking here now (also, I'm currently doing QA as a job, so I can't say I'm all that motivated to write bug reports in my spare time )

In any case, sorry for my long-windeness, but I really wanted to express my love for this game. Also, these forums are pretty awesome, what with the neat community, interesting discussion and particpation from the devs.

Cheers!

(Also, my girlfriend asked me to say that she also thinks that the game is awesome!)

I've been doing some of the challenges again on a new profile... some of the bosses drop the items, some do not. Presumably an easy fix would just to be to make sure they all drop the item unlocked by that challenge?

my natural lurker tendencies make it difficult to find the will to actually post things on internet forums

Well, congrats on getting around to making the thread and welcome to the DD forums.

*just* barely beat a thrilling Vicious Venture Cave as a blood mage with Super Meat Man as the boss

That's the highest HP you'll find outside of the vicious Tower of Gaan-Telet. Good job smacking him down.

(I don't participate in those because I still don't feel like I'm familiar enough with the game to have valuable input; still yet to beat Naga City despite numerous attempts)

Actually, that's a very good reason to become involved! When the hard-core veterans give feedback, our experiences can be very one-sided and we can't provide the perspective on the kinds of challenges faced by new players.

So feel free to post about your experiences. The only criticism you'll get is of the constructive kind.

In any case, I recall reading somewhere that I should be able to re-claim a silver challenge item by playing it again

If the item is unlocked, it should appear in the shops. Simply buy it from a shop and return to town (you don't need to complete the dungeon) and you can locker it. If you've unlocked the tinker class, he'll speed up the process.

I too am a fellow "Lurker" on the forums. Discovered the alpha searching for a D&D style game that didn't take 2 months to finish with 3-4 hour daily play sessions. Found a neat little game called Desktop Dungeons and liked it a lot!Shortly after that the beta was announced and I immediately got it.It has been awesome watching it progress from the pixilated gameboylike alpha to this beautiful state so far. Looking forward to a graphically progressing dungeon map screen- really liked the few dungeons that showed up on the kingdom screen last update (kingdom expansion I think).Any time I have thought of posting, someone has already stated my thoughts more or less, and I really haven't had a desire for many changes to begin with (although pretty much all of them have been excellent so far).I love D&D adventure style games, but I think I view this one more as more in the puzzle category (which I also love Double Win for me). It seems almost all games are winnable if you don't make too many mistakes (which seems to draw my game out to over an hour over analyzing everything) but I still haven't managed any vicious dungeons yet- but once the game is done I think I'll be playing a lot more hardcore. I've found myself sinking in forbidden late night hours and then thinking "I'm going to have to do this all over again!". not that i'll mind much- the random aspect of it lends to unbelievable replayability!

This is truly an awesome achievement guys! I'm Soo glad I found that alpha back then.. and I'm very much looking forward to the release so I can really dig in and not worry about the 'starting over' aspect. (would be curious where I rank as far as number of dungeon runs win vs. fail since you are tracking such things- probably be in the codex tho eh? ).

1. We need more non-superduper vet feedback, so lurkers, don't be intimidated!2. This is probably the most friendly online boards I've ever been on. Seriously, everyone is nice (although we can get hotheaded on certain issues).

We made an expansion and it is awesome. Really, you should check it out, especially if you're looking for some extra challenge.

Thank you for the welcome! I'll probably be posting on the topic from time to time, now that I've started

Though be warned, I have a tendency for endless text walls...

I might perhaps mention that my last Slime Pit run as a Goblin Tinker was an extremely tight run that made me realize that I was really underestimating the potential of alchemist seals and shops, and that I probably need to learn to manage piety better (especially when using Binlor). Felt awesome. Squeezing out a victory out of a nearly hopeless situation and learning about the game in the process is where DD shines the most (and makes me want to write detailed accounts of my victories XD)

Exactly yes! Thinking it's all over and then... wait a minute... what if I take this boon, or convert this item (or maybe all of them for that matter if it might mean a last winning hit ). So you try it and oh my god it worked! By the skin of your teeth you manage to pull it off! Makes you feel AWESOME doesn't it? I LOVE this game!

Well, since I've already started using this thread to boast about my victories (and it's already at the top of the thread list anyway, so I'll assume it's not too disruptive), I may as well indulge one last time:

-My earlier attempts seem futile now that I realise that the three shops in the spider arena only appear once you've completed the Bezar quests. I hadn't done those earlier, since the first few times I tried the first one it didn't actually complete (presumably a bug that got fixed?). It would've been nice to know, those three shops made the difference (part of it) that helped me win. Not that I think I'd have had a chance...

-I had no idea that desecrating multiple altars gave diminishing return. Pretty terrifying when you're counting on TT's potions and you end up 20 piety short XD Is this pointed out anywhere in the game? I guess some things I need to discover myself...

- I didn't time it, but it sure feels like it took around an hour... are all vicious dungeons like this? o.o